3 Non-SEO Items That Will Kill Your SEO Program

There are a lot of things that can derail your SEO program: a lack of content, low-quality links, being socially inactive and more. And while I cannot stress the importance of those SEO items, there are actually several non-SEO things that can ruin your SEO program before it even gets off the ground.

No Internal SEO Champion

As an SEO firm, we work outside our client’s offices while getting the SEO work done. But that means that someone on their side has to be the internal SEO champion that helps keep the wheels turning. After all, I can only do so much from out here! They are the ones approving content, reviewing onsite SEO recommendations, and tweaking social strategies, following through on link opportunities and so forth. I can do 90% of the work from my office, but that last 10% needs to be handled by someone in-house!

Just because you have hired an SEO firm to manage your SEO program that doesn’t mean you get to wash your hands of the whole thing. Even though your SEO partner is the expert, you still need to be involved in the process. You know your business, your products, your customers and your industry far better than your SEO firm ever could, and that information is going to be crucial to your long term success. Without an internal SEO champion greasing the wheels and keeping the project from being bottle necked your SEO partner is going to do a lot of work that gets you nowhere.

Mismanaged Expectations

We used to work with an SEO client that sold enterprise software. They considered IBM, Oracle and SAP their direct competitors because those companies also sell enterprise software. However, this client was maybe 1/10th the size of those brands, and even though they sell similar products, how many other verticals does IBM exist in? The IBM domain is arguably one of the oldest and most trusted websites online today, they have millions upon millions of page, dozens (if not hundreds) of thought leadership sites they run/sponsor, and hit so many markets their link profile potential is exponential. Yes, they sell enterprise software but that is only one drop in their product bucket.

Even when traffic to our client’s site increased, they only looked at how much MORE traffic IBM was getting. If their site got 20,000 visitors a month but IBM got 2 million, they considered their SEO program to be a failure. Never mind that their site was getting 25% more traffic than it had 6 months down the road, until they hit IBM numbers they assumed their SEO program was falling behind.

This is why understanding who your REAL online competition is so important for your SEO program. If you own a small retail business you are NEVER going to have more traffic than Amazon. That doesn’t mean you can’t carve out a solid spot for yourself in the SERPs and make really great strides. Don’t judge yourself and your SEO success by your competition, just look at where you’ve been and where you are going!

Lack of Knowledge

You don’t need to be an SEO expert if you are hiring an SEO firm to handle the bulk of the heavy lifting, but you do need a decent understanding of SEO. First off, you need to know if your SEO partner is doing anything that will get you in trouble. We’ve worked with more than one client who was actually penalized by Google because of the link building work their SEO firm had done. Since they didn’t know any better it wasn’t until the penalty was weighing them down and their SEO firm was long gone that they realized some serious mistakes had been made.

A lack of knowledge could also get you into hot water if you try to take your SEO program into your own hands. I know more than one site owner that knows just enough about SEO to be a danger to themselves and their site. Their knowledge is several years behind the times, so they are chugging along totally unaware their work is setting themselves up for failure. Again, you don’t need to be an expert but you need to be aware of how the tides are changing so you don’t find yourself up a creek without a paddle!

Read What Full Service SEO Clients Say About SEO Firm Brick Marketing

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"Our keyword rankings have improved and traffic has increased"

“The Brick Marketing team, was critical to ensuring that our new Web site is optimized to drive maximum traffic. Our keyword rankings have improved and traffic has increased thanks to her assistance and advice. In addition, they executed a strategic link building program that helped further increase Web traffic.”

– Lauren LaFronz, Director of Marketing, enChoice, Inc.

"superior knowledge of marketing on the internet"

“I have had the good fortune to work with SEO expert Nick Stamoulis and his team at Brick Marketing and it was clear form the get go that Nick had superior knowledge of marketing on the internet. The SEO campaign and technical writing that Brick Marketing provides has been impressive, where in the past we struggled to find the high levels of competence in these two skill sets. Were only just beginning with Brick Marketing and look forward to growing with their expert guidance. Thank you Nick Stamoulis and the Brick Marketing team!”

– Craig Raubenheimer, President, Roan Solutions, Inc.

"Brick Marketing is levels above all others...an integral part of my team"

“I have formed an invaluable marketing partnership with Brick Marketing. Nick Stamoulis and the rest of the Brick Marketing team are professional, timely, thorough and take time to, not only succeed at the tasks, but also educate myself and my team on the strategies in the process. Since my first encounter working with Brick, I’ve changed organizations and have taken them along with me…they are that good! In my experience in working with many outside agencies who over-promise and under-communicate, I can truly state that Brick Marketing is levels above all others and vested in our relationship. They are not just an SEO consultant, but an integral part of my team. I highly recommend Brick Marketing for any company looking to significantly increase search engine competitiveness and internet presence.​”

– Jodi Murphy, Marketing Director EUXmedia

"Brick Marketing is "solid" when it comes to support for SEO marketing advice"

“I had been impressed for a long time with the content that Brick Marketing was sharing in their informative blog posts and articles. I chatted with Nick Stamoulis a couple times and decided that he was the expert I wanted to work with. I have worked with Brick Marketing for about six months and they have helped us resolve several SEO related issues pertaining to our website. Our account rep is always just an email away with answers to any questions I have and suggestions for how we can improve what we’re doing. Brick Marketing is “solid” when it comes to support for SEO marketing advice. I definitely recommend them if you want to feel more secure about how your website is performing in searches and have the confidence that everything being done to improve your rank is white hat and legit.”

– Paul Rarick, Debbiegrattan.com

"traffic has increased over 80% year-over-year"

“When we started working with Brick Marketing, we had just been subjected to a Google algorithm update and our websites both took substantial hits to traffic. Within a few months, Brick has taken both of our websites to pre-algorithm traffic and conversion levels, and for the CallFinder site, the traffic has increased over 80% year-over-year. Their expertise in SEO, responsive design, and content marketing helped us turn the situation around, and we could not be happier with the results we’ve seen in just our first four months of working with them. The team we work with at Brick Marketing is always available for off-the-cuff consultations and are at the ready to provide recommendations and suggestions to improve our site’s appearance and performance. They are truly a hands-on partner, which is immensely valuable to our business.​”

"Brick Marketing is rock solid and essential in building a strong marketing foundation."

“Brick Marketing is extremely valuable for feedback and advice in many aspects of marketing, not just SEO and I look forward to continuing to work with them over the long term to continually improve our business and increase sales. That’s what it’s all about. Just like their name implies, Brick Marketing is rock solid and essential in building a strong marketing foundation.”

– Jeff Nicholson, President Freely Creative, Inc. / Websticker.com

"highly recommend Brick Marketing to all of my clients"

“After working with many other SEO firms and not being satisfied I finally was introduced to the Brick Marketing President and Founder, Nick Stamoulis. Nick Stamoulis has educated me about SEO and has provided me with a well rounded SEO package, not only does he offer top quality services he also educates his clients and spends the time to explain everything and their SEO pricing is competitive. I will highly recommend Brick Marketing to all of my clients. Brick Marketing is an A+ for SEO services.”

– Mike Cardella, Integrated Computer Services

"dependable, professional SEO company"

“Brick Marketing has been a dependable, professional SEO company that has helped us get results. In the last 6 months of using their services, visits to our website have increased by almost 30%. Our dedicated SEO Specialist was pleasant to deal with. Her suggestions for articles and press releases were industry specific. Brick Marketing always answered our phone calls and emails within an hour which made us feel valued as a client. I would recommend Brick Marketing to all businesses to handle their SEO needs.”

– JoAnne Loftus, Archival Designs, Inc.

"Brick Marketing has been a tremendous resource for our business"

“Brick Marketing has been a tremendous resource for our business. Through their expertise with the ever changing world of SEO, our web presence is as strong as ever. Our working relationship with Nick Stamoulis and Danielle Bachini has been outstanding. In collaboration with web designer Chris Roberts, we were also able to develop the perfect responsive website that truly reflects our business. Thank you Brick Marketing!​”

– Ellen Parlee, Parlee Farms

"went above and beyond to help us with any SEO issues"

“We hired Brick Marketing to manage our SEO, but they ended up also managing our company blog, social media marketing, helped us launch a pay per click advertising campaign, migrated our website to a new domain and so much more! Our SEO Specialist is always quick to respond whenever we had a question and went above and beyond to help us with any SEO issues.”